(1) “State and county officers and employees” shall include all full-time officers or employees who receive compensation for services rendered from state or county funds, or from funds of drainage districts or mosquito control districts of a county or counties, or from funds of the State Board of Administration or from funds of closed bank receivership accounts or from funds of any state institution or who receive compensation for employment or service from any agency, branch, department, institution or board of the state, or any county of the state, for service rendered the state or county from funds from any source provided for their employment or service regardless of whether the same is paid by state or county warrant or not; provided that such compensation in whatever form paid shall be specified in terms of fixed monthly salaries by the employing state or county agency or state or county official and shall not include amounts allowed for professional employees for special or particular service or for subsistence or travel expenses; provided further the department shall prescribe appropriate procedure for contribution deduction out of such compensation in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, provided further that such officers and employees defined herein shall not include those officers and employees excepted from the provisions by s. 122.18 of this law.
(2) “Average final compensation” shall mean the average salary of the 10 best contributing years of the last 15 years prior to retirement, or the career average since July 1, 1945, whichever is greater. A year shall be 12 running months. In the event that an officer or employee has not contributed to the retirement trust fund for at least 10 years, then the average final compensation shall mean the average salary of the last 10 years’ service.
(3) “Salary” shall mean the fixed monthly compensation paid officers and employees, and where officers’ or employees’ compensation is derived from fees set by statute, salary shall be the total cash remuneration received from such fees. Under no circumstances shall salary include fees paid professional persons for special or particular services. However, salary for all plan years beginning on or after July 1, 1990, shall not include any amounts in excess of the compensation limitation (originally $200,000) established by s. 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code prior to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which limitation shall be adjusted for changes in the cost of living since 1989, in the manner provided by s. 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1991. This limitation, which has been part of the State and County Officers’ and Employees’ Retirement System since plan years beginning on or after July 1, 1990, shall be adjusted as required by federal law for qualified government plans.
(4)(a) In determining the aggregate number of years of service of any officer or employee, the time of military service between 1939 and 1946 by the employee on leave of absence shall be added to the years of state or county service. Credit for any other military service shall not exceed 4 years; provided that those individuals who were employed by the War Manpower Commission in Florida (or on military leave from the War Manpower Commission) prior to November 16, 1946, by the National Reemployment Service in Florida subsequent to June 30, 1933, the 1Florida State Employment Service subsequent to June 30, 1935, or in the readjustment allowance or employment service departments of the Veterans Administration in Florida between July 1, 1944, and January 1, 1950, and who continued in employment with the state or any county without more than one interruption in the performance of service, this interruption not to exceed 5 years, shall be entitled to credit for continuous service for all such employment with the named agency or department, and shall have such time added to their aggregate number of years of service; provided further, that any such employee claiming such credit shall pay into the State and County Officers and Employees’ Retirement Trust Fund an amount equivalent to the amount which would have been placed in the fund had such employee been paying into the fund from July 1, 1945, on the basis of the wages paid to such employee by the Federal Government, plus interest thereon at the rate of 3 percent compounded annually until July 1, 1975, and thereafter at the rate of 6.5 percent interest compounded annually until date of payment; and provided further, that such persons shall furnish proper proof from the governmental agency showing the payment of wages for such service and that such persons are not claiming and have not been allowed credit for such service in a federal or any other retirement system, except those persons formerly with the War Manpower Commission who, prior to 1961, received federal service credit. Leave of absence shall be construed to cover any officer or employee of the state or county who was serving as such during the calendar year of 1940, or any time subsequent thereto, and who resigned his or her employment in time of war or national emergency to enter military service and who thereafter returned to that former employment with the state or county as soon as possible after release from military service.
(b) Any person claiming prior service credit under the provisions of this subsection shall pay into the State and County Officers and Employees’ Retirement Trust Fund a contribution equal to 5 percent of the earnings received during the period being claimed, plus 3 percent interest thereon compounded annually, such interest to commence and run from July 1, 1945, with respect to service prior thereto and from dates of employment with respect to service subsequent to June 30, 1945, and such interest shall continue to be figured at the rate of 3 percent until July 1, 1975, on which date and thereafter such interest shall be figured at the rate of 6.5 percent interest, compounded annually until date of payment.
(5) If compensation for accumulated annual leave is due and payable and is paid to the surviving spouse and the necessary contribution is made to the retirement trust fund, time for accumulated annual leave, not to exceed 30 working days, shall be added to the aggregate number of years service and to the member’s age, provided such time is needed to make the member eligible for retirement benefits at the time of death, in which event the retirement benefits shall be computed on the basis of the retirement age specified in s. 122.08(1) and (2)(a) if the member died prior to July 1, 1963, or on the basis of a retirement age of 65 years if the member died on or after July 1, 1963. Otherwise aggregate number of years of service shall mean the total number of years, and fractional parts of years, of service of any officer or employee omitting intervening years and fractional parts of years, when such officer or employee may not be employed by the state or county. Provided that any nonacademic employee of a school board shall receive a full year’s service credit for all years under the following conditions:
(a) Provided all necessary contributions have been made to the retirement trust fund.
(b) Provided the employee is employed and receives salary for the full school year.
(6) “Department” means the Department of Management Services.
History.—s. 2, ch. 29801, 1955; ss. 1-3, ch. 57-364; s. 1, ch. 57-813; s. 2, ch. 61-119; s. 1, ch. 61-469; s. 1, ch. 61-422; s. 1, ch. 63-453; s. 3, ch. 63-555; s. 8, ch. 65-484; ss. 1, 2, ch. 67-412; ss. 31, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 39, ch. 71-377; s. 1, ch. 73-326; s. 3, ch. 74-328; s. 62, ch. 92-279; s. 55, ch. 92-326; s. 780, ch. 95-147; s. 3, ch. 95-154; s. 12, ch. 96-368; s. 54, ch. 99-255.
1Note.—See ss. 2 and 15, ch. 83-174, which merge the Florida State Employment Service into the newly established Division of Labor, Employment, and Training of the Department of Labor and Employment Security and provide for a “state public employment service” within that division. The division was renamed the Division of Jobs and Benefits by s. 1, ch. 95-345, and deleted by s. 2, ch. 99-240. Section 69, ch. 2002-194, repealed s. 20.171, which created the Department of Labor and Employment Security.